Last December I wrote that I was intent on putting out a compact disc of my son Paul’s music and have all proceeds go to charities that work toward erasing the stigma of mental illness and/or preventing suicide. And I am pleased to say that it is almost ready to go. My plan now is to launch it sometime in the week of September 23 to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of Paul’s death. As the date gets closer, I’ll let you know where and when the launch will take place.
I must credit the three people who have helped make this project a reality:
- Martin Borsanyi, Paul’s friend from their Crossroads high school jazz ensemble days, copied all of Paul’s music from the original cassette tapes that Paul left us onto CDs
- Patrick von Wiegandt, a brilliant recording artist and singer and musician (he leads a band called Swanky), produced and engineered all the songs. He also helped me pick the songs for the CD and the order in which they will appear.
- Paul Blieden, photographer extraordinaire and my partner for the photography and poetry book, The Emerging Goddess, designed the cover.
So to whet your appetite, here’s a look at the front and back covers.
Madeline, How wonderful that you are posthumously publishing Paul’s music. He would be honored and thrilled. I am doing something similar, as you know, by incorporating John’s memoir into a novel. Together, we continue to give life to those who lived and still do in our hearts. This is the power of art and the artist. Susan
Thanks, Susan. Sorry to take so long to respond to you – I just found it here. I think the more we can do to remember and honor our loved ones the better we feel. I know how healing writing my memoir was for me. And I look forward to reading your novel. John would be thrilled as well. Madeline